Uttarakhand Floods: A Journalist's Account of What Really Happened

New Delhi: Exactly a year after the floods in Uttarakhand, that killed almost 6000 people, comes a book written by journalist Hridayesh Joshi who covered the tragedy extensively. The 200 page book provides fresh insights into how the tragedy unfolded and state government's shocking lack of response in the immediate aftermath. Mr Joshi reached Uttarakhand within 36 hours of the tragedy and travelled the length and breadth of the ravaged state for almost a month and was also the first journalist to claw his way through the rubble of the landslides and broken bridges to reach the Mandakini-ravaged Kedarnath temple.

Mr Joshi, who is a senior editor with NDTV, was part of the first television team to reach Kedarnath. The title of the book 'Tum chup kyon rahe Kedar?' roughly translated as "Why didn't you speak up Kedar?" is derived from the overwhelming sentiment of the locals who see Kedarnath not just a spiritual destination, but also the God of the Hindu pantheon who provides means of livelihood to thousands.
The book is strewn with real life stories of people who got caught in the middle of what was later referred to as the 'Himalayan Tsunami'.

One of the most chilling testimonies captured in the book is that of a manager of a seven-storey hotel en route to Kedar. He narrates how he locked up all the pilgrims inside his hotel hoping to save them. But due to his tragic misjudgement, bears the guilt as the trapped people drowned in the flood.

Advertisement

Through his journalistic account, Mr Joshi highlights how the impact of the tragedy could have been mitigated if both the state and the central government had responded with urgency. The book states how for the first 48 hours the state government was paralyzed and clueless about their first move. 'We were not prepared for such kind of disaster at all. Our response was slow. Not slow, in fact was very poor. The disaster struck on 14th June. But till the 19th, the state government was unable to get its act together' admitted a top IPS official in charge of relief operations to Mr Joshi.

The book reveals that even the national disaster management authority was flummoxed. When rescue workers asked for a gas cutter from one of the NDMA workers, they were appalled to figure out that he had no clue what it was. Capt. Puneet Bakshi, a civilian pilot who saved several lives tells the author, 'The NDMA turned up at the jamboree after 4 days and were equipped with nothing more than ropes and sticks. Most of them looked thin and unhealthy and without any specialised training or skills.

Advertisement

Going beyond the reporter's narrative, Mr Joshi traces the problems of exploited Himalayan ecosystem. Have the power projects really helped in developing the region, and given more opportunities to locals? 'The people of Uttarakhand have fought to save their environment in the past. There has been a history of struggle and the tradition is still alive. People are still fighting to save their forests and rivers even when the construction and hydro power dam lobby is so powerful'. The state has remained distant and unmoved. While the mainstream media has categorised Uttarakhand as politically redundant and ecologically unimportant, thus turning it into one of the country's most under-reported states.

Finally the book delves into the exemplary role of the armed forces, but not without asking some probing questions on operational derelictions. Mr Joshi reveals that hundreds of sorties were conducted by army and civil pilots without bringing any doctors and life-saving drugs to high altitudes where thousands were stranded.
Rescuers recounted that people were critically ill and if government had planned well many lives could have been saved by medical staff deployment in the mountains since evacuation was taking time.

Advertisement

Mr Joshi's account enriches the incipient discourse on journalism and especially his insights into how technology was deployed to convey real-time images despite insurmountable odds. More importantly it serves as a timely reminder about the need for a fundamental policy re-think about one of India's most vulnerable and bio diverse regions.